Phases of the Moon
by TeaShop
Summary: She was always there, invisible in his eyes. And when she literally falls into his life he can no longer rid her from his thoughts, no matter how hard he tries. Set during the Marauders Era.
1. Chapter 1

**Set in the Marauders Era and is **_**possibly**_** going to become canon once they graduate. ENJOY!**

…

**CHAPTER 1**

**An Evening at the Ministry **

"Remus! Please come down stairs! You know how your father feels about being late!" Remus heard his mother's airy voice float up the stairs. For the past few minutes he had been standing in his room, resenting his parents. But, as much as he hated to admit it, he owed them. So he would be wasting yet another of the few Saturday nights left in the summer to attend a ministry party for one of his father's articles in the _Daily Prophet_ or his contributions to the ministry or something like that. It truly disturbed Remus how much his father was working with the ministry (despite the fact that it was very plausible that he was trying to butter them up and slyly convince them to accept magical creatures as important parts of the wizarding community). Remus didn't know. All he could focus on at the moment was how these parties were probably considered to be forms of torture in some cultures.

The teenager sighed and slipped on his shoes before lazily making his way down the stairs. By the time he rounded the corner on the second landing of the narrow staircase he bumped into his mother who was climbing the stairway as fast as her high-heeled feet could permit. The two steadied themselves and the woman released a sigh, of what seemed to be relief.

"Thank god you're ready! You're father would've thrown a fit if you took any longer," she smiled at him and straightened his tie. "Now just _try_ to be pleasant tonight. For your father?" Remus forced a smile and nodded slightly. She ruffled his hair before gathering a handful of her floral, floor length dress in one hand and beginning back down the stairs. She turned back to look at her son, who was still standing on the landing, silently protesting his desire to stay home. "Well, come on now! Let's get going," she gave him a look that could be regarded as the equivalent of physically dragging him down the stairs. Remus obliged begrudgingly and walked down the rest of the stairs and into the sitting room to find his father sitting in one of the oversized chairs before the fireplace, drumming his fingers impatiently.

Without a word the graying man rose slowly from his seat and strolled towards the fireplace, lifting the container of floo powder from the mantelpiece.

"'Bout time you decided to join us," the man said, moving the jar of powder in a circular motion his eyes fixed on his son.

"Yeah, sorry. I couldn't find my shoes," Remus lied. It was the last thing he needed for his father to discover the pity party Remus had thrown himself in his bedroom instead of getting ready.

"Right then! Let's get a move on!" a smile spread across his father's face. He extended the jar to Remus, "Escort your mother, would you?"

Grabbing a handful of floo powder Remus felt his mother take his arm and he led her into the fireplace. They stood there for a moment, the blonde woman adjusting the bundle of curls at the back of her head and smiling at her husband. Remus looked from his mother to his father, trying to decipher the silent conversation that they were having. He was still amazed at how they could still look at each other with so much love in their eyes after all of these years, after everything they had gone through with his…condition. The man threw a wink at his wife and said, "Ministry ballroom, Remus."

Remus released the powder and shouted, "_Ministry ballroom!" _before being engulfed by a wave of green flames. When the flames subsided, the two stepped from the sizeable, black marble fireplace and into a ballroom full of people. Remus sighed. Why did his father have to get into this sort of thing? Of all jobs, why one that required the presence of his family to maintain a reputation. His mother, still clinging to his arm cleared her throat, catching the attention of her vacant son. She gave him a worried look and he reassured her with a smile while she released his arm to be escorted by her husband. Remus followed slowly glancing around at the people present; big shot writers from _The Prophet, _along with even an editor or two, photographers, and representatives from the Ministry voicing their respect for the newspaper. And now his father was part of this, part of this fake form of admiration and these truly un-genuine people. He knew his father was above all of this, but he had no desire to be the one to tell him what he should and shouldn't do. He brushed away his thoughts and continued to walk in wake of his parents, feeling shamefully out of place.

The night drawled on. The adults mingled and danced while Remus quietly roamed the exterior of the dance floor in an attempt to find something to do. Occasionally his parents would introduce him to an important person or some sort of figure head, to which he would mindlessly smile and shake hands with only to forget their name the second he walked away.

After he polished off his second butterbeer Remus opted for a bit of fresh air. He made his way through the open French doors leading to the patio, where it seemed he would be able to enjoy a few moments away from the lively ballroom. He shoved his hands into his pockets and took in his surroundings. Trees and shrubs wrapped in string lights, a fountain endlessly spewing water surrounded by twinkling pixies.

He sighed and collapsed onto a stone bench before the fountain, rubbing his temples. The music from the ballroom grew significantly louder and with a surge of frustration he flung to his feet, storming toward a large cluster of trees. He leaned against a tree and slid to the ground before he began to pick at the dry, August grass. Finally free from the infuriating music he contemplated lying down but before he could do so his attention was drawn to the branches above him. The trees had been wrapped in a multitude of string lights, illuminating the eerie shapes of branches against the inky blue sky. Among the jagged shadows Remus noticed the outline of what appeared to be a dog clinging to a particularly large limb of the tree he was sitting under. The animal cried out in short bursts of barking and whining as it wildly tried to regain its perch. Remus flew to his feet, straining his neck and eyes to get a better look at the creature. However, as soon as he did so it lost its grip on the bark and began to plummet to the ground in a flash of orange fur. Panic stricken, Remus held out his arms and tried to follow the dog's path of decent, in hopes of saving it from falling to it's death. Within seconds he found himself holding the torso of a small, orange fox. The animal had somehow contorted itself to be halfway in his arms with its legs tangled in the string lights on the trunk of the tree.

"Oh, hello," Remus looked into the animals pointed face. "Lovely of you to drop in," he chuckled to himself and the fox seemed to exert an air of boredom, "Alright sorry, I can see you're not one for corny jokes, are you?" The creature simply blinked at him, "Right then, let's get you untangled." He reached over to the tree and worked to unknot the wires without dropping the creature. "These people are magic and yet they still insist on using electricity, it's bloody stupid in my opinion. You know, I've never really been I fan on the ministry to tell you the truth," he held the fox, now free from the wires, in his arms and stroked behind its ear. "Alright, there you are," he set it down on the ground and reoccupied his previous seat under the tree, but the fox did not run off as he had expected it to. It simply sat, leaning against his outstretched legs, staring at him.

"Well go on then! Run off into the forest!" he waved his hands at it, but it simply sat there. "What? Are you trying to avoid mingling too?" the fox swung its tail across the ground as Remus continued speaking to it, "I wouldn't put it past you lot to know how to mingle, in a fox sort of way, though." Remus looked into the animal's large round eyes that seemed to be sparkling with amusement. This pattern continued for a while; Remus talking to the fox, just mindlessly verbalizing whatever came to mind, while the animal listened. It was odd to Remus how this fox seemed to be interested in his thoughts, be he kept talking assuming his words to sound like gibberish to the mass of brownish orange fur, that had relocated itself onto his lap.

In the midst of his rambling Remus felt his empty stomach churn, he had only eaten a few hors d'oeuvres earlier that evening foolishly thinking such a small amount of food would fulfill his werewolf sized appetite. He removed the small, warm body from his lap and stood up. "I'm going to go get something more to eat. I'll be right back with something for you too, okay?" He turned and began walking back to the ball room, his stomach somewhat leading the way. But before he could travel too far from the small orchard he heard a voice call out to him from behind, a soft, sweet voice that had been projected in his direction just enough to coat his ears with the words being spoken.

"There's no need to trouble yourself," Remus slowly wheeled around on his heel to discover a tall, thin, barefoot girl standing among the trees, the fox nowhere in sight. He was quite taken back by the girl, by her large blue eyes and her heart shaped face and her soft brown hair, tinted with red, which was tied back loosely while stray pieces of hair hung around her ears. "Thank you, though," she grinned at him as she fiddled with the silver triangular pendant hanging from the long silver chain around her neck.

"You're an-" Remus began only to be cut off by the girl.

"An animagus? Yeah, but I'm not registered so don't go off and tell anyone alright?" she paused and smiled, "Now where did I leave my shoes…" she walked off and began circling around trees and peering into bushed before she finally returned carrying a pair of grey, canvas heels announcing triumphantly, "Found them!" Remus couldn't help but smile with her sense of accomplishment. As she slipped on her shoes she said, "I'm Elaina Monroe, by the way."

"Remus Lupin," they shook hands awkwardly. "So do your parents work for the Ministry?" Remus asked, trying to make conversation.

"Unfortunately, yes. My dad is an editor for the _Prophet_, which I consider to be working directly for the Ministry," she then added, "My mum's a muggle," in afterthought.

"Yeah, my mum's a muggle too and my dad's a journalist for the _Prophet."_

Elaina looked at her feet shyly and, still wanting to talk with her, Remus thoughtlessly asked, "Would you like to dance?"

"With music?" she met his gaze, sounding a bit shocked and Remus nodded. "But you said you hated the music."

"Oh right yeah um, sorry about um talking so much earlier…see I uh didn't think anyone was really listening," his voice became very small and embarrassed by the end of his sentence.

"It's quite alright, I actually enjoyed listening to you and, I mean, I won't embarrass you and tell anyone," she pushed her long bangs from her eye and then added, "But, yes, I'd love to dance. Although, I must warn you, I'm kind of a horrible dancer."

"I'm sure you're just saying that," Remus replied as the two of them made their way into the ballroom, ineptly stepping into the crowd just as a slower waltz began to play. They hesitantly began dancing among the others and, trying to ease the slight discomfort between them, said, "See, you're not a bad dancer at all!"

"You'll regret saying that when I start stepping on your toes – consider this an apology in advance," she stopped watching the movements of her feet and smiled at him. 

Remus smiled back, internally promising anything to have kept that comfortable eye contact once she glanced away. "So, Elaina –" she interrupted him.

"So, Remus," that sense of comfort between them had returned.

"What year are you in?"

"Seventh, and you?"

"Same. Why is it that I've never met you before? Your name sounds terribly familiar, but I've never quite noticed you before…and, I must say, I don't know how I could've overlooked you."

Elaina smiled, "You miss a lot when you have your eyes closed, Remus." Remus went quiet after she said that, he had been walking about with his eyes closed, not looking for anyone in particular, despite many of Sirius' attempts at matchmaking. In the midst of his thoughts the pair had somehow made their way to the middle of dance floor, swaying and moving slowly to their own tempo.

"And you've noticed me then?" Remus asked her, the question having been on his mind.

"Of course, how could I not have?" Remus lifted and eyebrow and Elaina laughed. "Perhaps I should've said: how could I let your infamous pranking go unnoticed?"

"Well, what can I say, I do what I can," for a moment they both just smiled at each other, refusing to break eye contact.

"I didn't really expect you to be so kind, to be honest," Elaina let the loose wisps of hair fall from behind her ears to hide her cheeks that had turned a light pink.

"Well, I didn't expect for such a lovely girl to drop in on my evening. Thank you for that, by the way," Remus responded, mentally scolding himself for possibly triggering an uncomfortable situation, but the girl's cheeks and ears became significantly more pink, so much so that not even her hair or the dim lighting could conceal her flushed skin.

As the night progressed on, the two teenagers continued to dance and laugh, all the while becoming more and more relaxed in each other's presence. When the ballroom started to thin out Remus departed from his companion reluctantly and followed his parents into the fireplace, his tie loosened and a smile plastered on his face.

…

**Thanks for reading! Reviews would be lovely! And also, I'd like to receive about 5 or so reviews for another chapter (unless, by some miracle, I'm extremely inspired and can't wait to upload my second chapter). **


	2. Chapter 2

**First of all, thank you for all of the lovely reviews! **

**From this point forward I'm going to be using quotes from famous authors and poets in some of the dialogue, which I will mark within the quotations **_**'like this'**_**. I don't own any of the material marked in such a way.**

**CHAPTER 2**

**A Shared Sweet Tooth**

The days leading up to Remus' return to Hogwarts passed at an incredibly slow pace. There wasn't much he could do to keep himself occupied, as his mind was clearly elsewhere. Of course, he did _try_ to keep himself engaged in reality instead of letting himself be consumed by his own mental obscurities. He read books and wrote letters and even considered taking up something time consuming, like fencing or sculpture, but he mostly read books.

The evening before he was to leave for school, Remus sat on the floor of his room piling books and clothes into his trunk. In the midst of this monotonous task he heard a light tapping on his door.

"Yes?" he answered, his arms still emerged in his trunk trying to make room in order to compensate for the current books to clothes ratio. The door creaked open and his mother poked her head into his room.

"Still packing are we?" she said as she pushed the door all the way open.

"Still packing."

"Well," she cleared her throat, "This came in the post today and I thought you might like to keep it." She stepped toward him and held out a thin, and terribly bright, blue envelope. He peeled open the flap and pulled at the contents. What he removed from the vivid parchment casing was a piece of glossy paper, with edges that cascaded off the top in smooth curves, no matter which way he held it. The only thing on the intense white surface was _August; Ministry Event – Lupin and Monroe_, written in elegant black script. Remus flipped it over, half expecting to see Elaina and himself standing out in the garden awkwardly, but the photo depicted a very different scene. Instead, it illustrated two people swiftly moving to silence, laughing and smiling. Nevertheless, the figure moving and spinning and laughing with Elaina was not the worn out looking teenager he saw when he looked in the mirror. The boy in the photo looked happy and full of life, two things Remus had not appeared to be for a very long time. It seemed impossible to Remus that he would ever be able to stop staring at the picture or that he would ever be able to stop smiling at it, for that matter. And then, without any form of warning, the boy began to remember that evening in great detail, the way he had numerous times in the days subsequent to that event, particularly the girl he had met who he had inadvertently overlooked for six years. When he was finally able to tear himself away from the photo, he looked up at his mother, who was standing in the doorway overcome with the amount joy she felt from the happiness radiating off her son.

"Who took this?"

"I'm not sure. Probably one of your father's photographer friends or something, you know how they'll snap a picture of anything that moves," Remus nodded and let a smile tug at his lips again as he spun the heavy parchment from the corners. "Remus," he looked up at his mother, "Try to get some sleep tonight."

"Alright, Mum, I will," the blonde woman standing in the doorway took this as her cue to smile and back out of her son's room, quietly shutting the door behind her.

It took Remus a few moments before he tucked the picture between the pages of one of his text books and closed his trunk, suddenly anticipating his last train ride to Hogwarts more than he had all summer.

…

The atmosphere on Platform 9 ¾ was heavy with excitement - per usual. As Remus departed from the good-byes of his parents, he took in the pure joy that seemed to be radiating off of every first year. He watched as they flung themselves onto the train, trying to carry trunks that were presumably over filled and high expectations of their new home – which would be met without doubt. For a moment Remus stood on the platform, relishing in the tangible excitement that hung in the air. This was the final time he would hesitate to board the train; he was about to go home for the very last time. He allowed himself to become relaxed in this moment, to let his getting on the train wait until the nostalgia passed. However, this moment of equanimity was short lived.

"MOONY!" he heard a mix of two familiar voices roar from a distance just within an earshot. He looked in the callers' direction to find a foreseen James and Sirius striding across the platform.

"HAVE YOU DONE SOMETHING DIFFERENT WITH YOUR HAIR, MOONS?" Sirius bellowed, grinning wildly at the thought of embarrassing his friend.

"BECAUSE IT LOOKS MAGNIFICANT!" James chimed in.

"It seems like you two actually _work _at humiliating me," Remus commented as he approached his fellow Marauders.

"But on the contrary! It actually comes quite naturally," Sirius replied.

Remus shook his head, "Prick," he muttered.

"Well, no need to be so blunt Remus; even if your furry time of the month _is_ close upon us," Sirius joked, earning a sharp elbow in the ribs from Remus.

"Alright, lads, let's get on the train shall we?" James said, stepping between Remus and Sirius before clapping his hands on their shoulders. "It's our last year! Let's not start it out by bickering!"

"Who's bickering? James, you know it's all in good fun," Sirius commented as the three of them climbed aboard the vibrant train.

"Yes, all in good fun," Remus added, "And when did you become so diplomatic, Prongs?"

"Because, Moony, I've figured out how to finally win over Evans."

"Oh this should be good." Sirius threw himself onto the plush seat of the group's favorite compartment and placed his hands behind his head as he lounged against the window. "Go on, go on! What's this year's master plan?"

"Oh sod off!" James flopped down onto the seat next to his shaggy haired friend. "It's a brilliant plan, mind you!"

"Right then, let's hear it."

"Well, we all known that Evans thinks I'm…er –" James began only to be cut off by the alternating voices of his two friends.

"– Arrogant?"

"– A braggart?"

"– Annoying?" 

"Shall we go on?"

"Thanks a lot, you gits! I was going to say devilishly handsome, but I suppose," he paused and ran a hand through his hair, "I suppose the only way to win her heart is to uhm be a bit more modest." For a moment the three of them were completely silent, not trapped in a tense moment or even an awkward on, for that matter; just silent. Remus and Sirius looked at one another sharing a pleased expression that James had _finally_ come up with a plausible plan.

"Well, I'm sure you have your work cut out for you with that one, mate!" Sirius ultimately answered.

Remus straightened himself from his post at the doorway, "I'm going to find the candy trolley."

"Honestly? The train hasn't even left yet," James commented from his seat.

"Give that old broad a snog for me, would yah? And grab me a box of jelly slugs!" Sirius shouted after the werewolf as he began down the aisle without a second thought. Sirius extended his long legs onto the seat in front of him. "I wager a sickle he'll come back with ten pieces of fudge," he said to James, who was fiddling with the whips of hair falling onto his glasses.

"I'd say seven," James responded absentmindedly. "And you make that a galleon and you have yourself a deal, Padfoot."

Elsewhere, Remus had located the candy trolley and began his yearly conversation with the woman behind it with a chipper, "Good morning!"

"Hullo, dear! What can I get you today?"

"Well," Remus pondered his options, unaware of how drastically his mood had lifted. "I think I'll have three licorice wands, a box of jelly slugs, a box of sugar quills, four chocolate frogs, eight cauldron cakes, a box of Bertie Botts, and nine lumps of fudge," he finished his order with a broad smile.

"And I'll have the same, please!" a very familiar voice stated from behind him. Remus was taken aback by this interjection and peered over his shoulder to find exactly who he had expected to find; the girl with the most incredible blue eyes; the girl who had been roaming around in his thoughts for days; Elaina Monroe.

The woman behind the cart smiled as Remus locked eyes with the girl over his shoulder, "It figures that two of my favorite customers have the same taste in sweets."

"Hello, Remus," she said stepping up to the cart to stand next to him.

"Hi, Elaina," the two of them endured a few movements of comfortable silence as they watched as their sweets were wrapped in two identical bags, which were far too small to hold Remus' large order. During this short wait Remus found himself calculating his total and automatically placed double the amount in the hand of the candy woman after receiving his purchase. Elaina, totally oblivious to Remus' act, was digging fervently through her coin purse. Remus smiled at her before placing a hand on top of her's, as she worked to collect the correct amount of money, which caused her to look up at him in surprise. "I covered yours," he told her, looking directly into her stunned eyes.

"Remus, you really didn't have to –" she began.

"But, I wanted to," he cut her off with a smile.

A blush was creeping onto her cheeks and she smiled down at her shoes. "Well," she returned her gaze to the boy standing before her, "Thank you."

"You're quite welcome."

She grabbed her candy from the ledge of the trolley and began to walk back to her compartment, keeping her pace quite slow as a way of inviting Remus to walk with her. "You're very sweet," she said when she noticed him strolling down the aisle by her side.

"So I'm told," he teased, winning a chuckle from the girl walking in sync with him.

Feeling a lull in the conversation upon them Elaina took it upon herself to keep the exchange alive, "Have you ever thought it odd that they measure fudge in lumps rather than something more practical?"

Remus laughed, "I suppose so…but this is the Wizarding World – they could measure fudge in elephant toe nails and it would still be considered practical." Elaina involuntarily let out a loud laugh, quickly covering her mouth with her hand only letting small squeaking sounds escape he mouth – an act that Remus found helplessly adorable. "How did you even consider that? Most people don't normally question the measurement of fudge."

"I guess it just crossed my mind on day, a lot of unusual things cross my mind," she glanced up at him and Remus, one again, found himself unable to look away.

"You're quite odd, Elaina," Remus quickly fumbled for less blunt words and Elaina stepped inside the compartment that she would be sharing with her friends. "I-no I don't mean that is a bad way either I just mean that–"

She smiled, "I know what you mean and I don't take it as a bad thing. I suppose that _'I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.'_"

"Poe," he said, standing lamely in the door way, "You read Poe?"

"Of course, I've found that text books alone can become horribly dull," she replied, clearly astonished by his ability to recognize a quote by one of her favorite authors.

"I completely agree, however, I hope you know that '_quotation is a serviceable substitute for wit.'_"

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," she said with a smirk. "I'm just incredibly impressed with your knowledge of muggle literature."

"And I could say the same –" Remus began to return her complement but was cut off by a very loud voice shouting a leg locking hex, which came flying past Remus and through the doors of the compartment, aimed directly at Elaina. Such an action did not take the girl at all by surprise; instead she blocked the hex with an absentminded flick of her wand.

"Must you _always_ ruin my fun, El?" A tall girl with strikingly blonde hair that was cut to her chin, but was pushed out of her face to expose a row of silver earrings along each ear appeared at the door. The girl had extremely long, thin limbs along with a pair of deep brown eyes and a broad smile.

"Yes, particularly when I am your target," she replied coolly.

"Right…Who's this," she gestured to Remus, as though she had just noticed his presence. "Is he our replacement for Allen?"

"We found a replacement for Allen already?" much shorter girl appeared at the door, speaking as though she was out of breath. "Thank you, Amelia, for leaving me on the platform! I had to run around the whole bloody train to find you!" This girl, much to the contrast of the other had very dark hair that fell to her shoulders with bangs that were fashioned in a sharp line across her forehead – framing her round face and accentuating her clear hazel eyes.

"No, he isn't our replacement for Allen! Allen wrote me this summer and said that he broke up with his girlfriend – "

"_Finally!_" the two girls chorused.

"Alright, he no longer needs replacing," the blonde clapped her hand on Remus' shoulder, "Sorry, mate."

"I'm Avery," the dark haired girl extended her hand to Remus, "Avery Verity."

"Remus Lupin."

"And I'm Amelia Nolton," the blonde took the hand Avery had just released and shook it with enthusiasm.

"It's nice to meet you both," Remus said picking his bag of sweets from the ground, which seemed significantly heavier than it had earlier. "I should be going then…I'll see you around, Elaina."

"See you around," she answered with a small wave and watched him leave the compartment, turning back to flash her a smile before walking off.

"Well, he's just adorable," Avery thought aloud before sitting next to Amelia, who was already sprawled out in her usual spot.

"You need to date that boy, El," Amelia said, digging through the bag of candy. "And don't pretend that you don't want to because I saw you slip that book into his bag of sweets," she jabbed the air with a sugar quill.

"You gave him your book?" Avery asked.

"I um…I made a second copy," Elaina said sheepishly before biting into a lump of fudge.

"Did you leave a note in it or anything?"

"I'm working on that," she gestured to the quill and open book in her lap.

"Hey! What'd I miss?" the trio looked up to find a tall and completely disheveled boy with tousled auburn hair and expressive blue eyes flop down in the seat next to Elaina.

Amelia was the first to speak up, "Why hello, Allen."

…

A few compartments down, Remus reclaimed the seat between the window and a sleeping Peter Pettigrew, welcomed back by the questioning eyes or Sirius and James.

"So…" James began composedly.

"Moony, who was that girl you were flirting with?" Sirius probed.

"Way to be discreet, Padfoot," James mumbled, reaching for the bag of sweets.

"I was not flirting, thank you! She's a friend," Remus made a weak attempt to defend himself.

"A friend my arse!" Sirius now had a cheeky grin plastered onto his face.

"Moons, where the hell are the Bertie Botts? I hate these infantine space charms, it's bloody impossible to find –" James paused, "What's this?" he lifted a green, leather bound book. Remus lunged forward in an attempt to snatch it from his hands but James held it back.

"James!" Remus threatened, hovering over him.

"Shush, Moony, I'm reading!" he teased. He opened the front cover of the book to reveal shimmering gold words coving the first page. James read aloud, "Remus, in my mind lumps of fudge are equivalent to various pieces of literature, so I've decided to give you this – a compilation of my favorite works. Mind you, it's my spare copy and I would really like to you keep it. Thanks, again! Elaina x." James stopped reading and closed the book, prompting stares from both Padfoot and Prongs.

"Moony, I have this crazy notion," Sirius declared taking the book from James and handing it to Remus. "I am still very much under the impression that you need a girlfriend and my senses are telling me that, this girl," he tapped loudly on the cover of the book, "could be that girl."

"But I've only just met and I know nothing about her plus what girl wouldn't go running for the hills once she found out – listen I appreciate the advice, but I can handle this on my own," Remus insisted.

"Fine," Sirius raised his hands in surrender, "But you'll consider my notion won't you?"

…

**Will he? **

**Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! **

**Quotes used (in order of appearance): Edgar Allan Poe, Oscar Wilde.  
>Reviews are just as lovely as a bag of sweets!<br>**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again! I'd like to start by defending myself by saying that, things have been crazy and I've been struggling to find the time to write! I'm horrible with keeping up with deadlines, for which I am deeply sorry, my lovely lovely reader.**

**-In regards to the actual story - **

**First of all, a bit of a change that you'll probably pick up on later, James in not Head Boy in this story – just so you know! Also, I just wanted to remind you that all quotes from bits of poetry and prose from various authors will be marked **_**'like this'**_** within the quotation marks. I do not, in anyway, own material marked as such. All authors will be cited at the end of each chapter in order of appearance.**

…

**Chapter 3**

**The Beginning of the End**

"Mr. Pettigrew!" James bellowed into the ear of the still quiescent Peter, manipulating his voice so it sounded like that of their strict head of house, Professor McGonagall, as the train came to a halt. Not receiving any response he turned to an amused Sirius and Remus before persisting. "If I catch you sleeping in my class one more time, you will have detention with Mr. Filch for the rest of the term!"

"I'm sorry, Professor!" Peter shot up in his seat, his expression frantic as his three friends burst into hysterics. His neck turned an embarrassed, pulsing red, "Prongs, it's really not fair how well you can do that."

"Sorry, Wormtail," James replied through his chuckles, "We really did try everything else to wake you. And being the marvelous friends that we are, we managed to save you some sweets." Peter grappled for the, now, nearly empty bag and sunk further into his seat.

"You coming, Wormy?"Sirius asked noticing Peter still in his street clothes, unwrapping a chocolate frog.

"You guys go ahead, I'll meet up with you at the feast," Peter replied off handedly.

As they left the compartment the trio seemed a bit baffled by Peter's indifference, as he was usually the first to agree to an invitation. But they said nothing of it and moved toward the exit.

The doors of the train flung open, sending masses of Hogwarts students onto the Hogsmead platform. The first years instantly broke away from the others, quietly following the friendly half-giant over to the boats – awe stricken. The marauders stood amongst the crowd waiting for the thestral drawn carriage that would take them onto the grounds. As they stood, absentmindedly throwing jokes at each other and chatting about the prospective school year, Remus noticed a significantly loud eruption of laughter from the train. Turning his attention in that direction he watched as the noisy group practically tumbled through the open doors, trying desperately to contain their laughter. Remus recognized the group straight away, the tallest of the four's white blonde hair acting as a dead giveaway in terms of their identity. However, there was a face that he recognized but had never associated with the three girls – his fourth roommate in Gryffindor Tower, Allen Lexington.

"Oi! Moony!" Remus jumped as Sirius clicked his fingers in front of his face, obstructing his view. "What-cha lookin' at?"

"Uhm, nothing. It's nothing," Remus managed to differ his focus to his friends who were extremely unconvinced by his response.

Sirius opened his mouth to make a remark but James spoke up first, his focus also devoted to someone within the crowd. "She looks even lovelier this year, doesn't she?" he directed at no one in particular. "Wish me luck, lads." He straightened his tie, ran a hand through his hair, and swaggered into the throng. Unlike most people, James was always the type of person that hardly needed any form of verification before he made a decision, even when he requested it.

"That bird you've been flirting with is over there isn't she?" Sirius nodded in the direction which Remus had been previously devoting his attentions. Remus made a slight motion with his head and said nothing after a failed attempt to assure Sirius that he was _not_ flirting. "You gonna go talk to her?"

"It's different when they're with their friends, yah know? It's a bit intimidating." Remus shrugged and looked back to Sirius who seemed to be contemplating something.

"I think I'm going to go talk to them," Sirius said as he began to walk off in the same fashion that James had, only moments before. It took a second for this to register in Remus' brain, but as it did the words slipped from his lips in a violent whisper, "Is he _mental_?"

As he made his way after his friend Remus could pick out Sirius sauntering up to the four of them, greeting his roommate cheerfully after a long summer and placing an over dramatic kiss on each of the girl's knuckles, earning a blush or a giggle from each of them. Remus watched Elaina's cheeks turn an aggressive pink and unconsciously clenched his fists. Sirius was clearly using this tactic to get Remus to join him, but he could have at least been a bit more subtle about the whole matter.

"Ah Remus! There you are! Have you acquainted yourself with these lovely ladies?" Sirius clapped him on the shoulder and threw a wink at Avery, an action which seemed to make her visibly weak at the knees.

"As a matter of fact I have," Remus smiled in an attempt to keep his composure as he meet Elaina's gaze. To his relief, before he was obligated to say anything more a carriage stopped alongside them. The six of them climbed aboard in silence allowing Remus the time to think of potential subjects for small talk.

"I hope you lot don't mind us riding with you lot," Sirius said.

"Not at all! We're all going to the same place," Avery replied brightly her eyes fixated on the dark haired boy.

"Where's the rest of your group? You seem to be fever in numbers than usual," Elaina asked.

"Well, James is off chasing Lily Evans and Peter is Merlin knows where."

There was a pause as some of them nodded slightly, accepting Sirius' words. And then Allen spoke up, breaking the almost awkward silence, "With good reason, I mean Evans is a hell of a kisser." Such a claim won him the both amused and incredulous stares of his company. "What? We had a thing a few summers ago," he said answering the question on everyone's mind.

"You're such a lady killer, Allen," Amelia said a cheeky grin spreading across her face.

"I seem to have evolved into one after rooming with this bloke all these years," Allen replied jutting his thumb at Sirius who responded with a hearty laugh.

The rest of the ride to the castle consisted of the Allen, Sirius, and Remus reminiscing about the years in Gryffindor Tower while the girls seemed to be planning hypothetical dates and trips to Hogsmead with the attractive Slytherin prefect or that _adorable_ Hufflepuff boy – an act which Remus couldn't help but over think. The six of them had been so engrossed in conversation that they nearly jumped when the carriage came to a halt, as though they had forgotten their destination. As they neared the entrance to the great hall the group stopped before traveling to their respective tables.

"Is it possible that this place just keeps getting more and more beautiful every year," Elaina whispered, only to be heard by the heightened hearing of the werewolf standing beside her.

He wanted so badly to respond to her, to let her know that he had allowed her small voice to fill his ears. But instead he only smiled at her and said, "Magnificent isn't it?"

"As always," she smiled back up at him. Her blue eyes seemed to sparkle underneath the flickering candles floating above them. "I should get to my table," Elaina said as she began to walk away.

"Which house?" he called after her in afterthought, suddenly remembering how often he had pondered this during the summer.

"Ravenclaw!" she replied in a mock sorting hat voice, walking backwards. He chuckled, half rolling his eyes and she grinned before she spun back around.

He shook his head lightly and shoved his hands in his pockets without realizing that for the past few moments the two had been standing alone, that the four others had left them to their brief conversation. Upon taking his seat between James and Allen the troop of first years entered the hall. There was always something about the sorting ceremony that was nostalgic for Remus; he remembered how anxious he was, and how torn the sorting hat was as it meditated his future in both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. But what if he had been put into Ravenclaw? He would have never met up with the Marauders, that's for sure. They would have probably been replaced with a handful of intellectuals, and perhaps he would have met up with a girl as well – one with brown hair and a sharp nose and blue eyes. No. No, he would never write off his friends that quickly – and for a girl of all things. By the time he pulled himself from his thoughts the sorting had ended and a small blonde girl with familiar, warm brown eyes had placed herself beside Sirius, who seemed to be quite amused with the girl.

"Oh I can't believe I'm a Gryffindor! My mother will be so angry with me, we have a reputation to keep up, you know. She really wanted me to be in Slytherin." Sirius laughed, partly at the girl's constant chatter, and partly at how familiar her situation was to him. "My name's Kimberly Nolton. Are there a lot of nice people in this house? I hear the common room is really nice too! Oh! I am so excited!"

Remus leaned forward and met the girl's wide, chocolate brown eyes, "You're sister's Amelia, isn't she?"

"Yeah! How do you know her?"

"She's a friend of a friend," Remus tried to avoid further questions on the subject and added, "You look just like her, you know?"

"Allen tells me that all the time. If you ask me, I think he likes her," Kimberly replied after placing a hand beside her mouth in order to keep this secrete from Allen who was completely aware of her claim.

"That last name sounds terribly familiar," Sirius interjected, speaking while gnawing on turkey leg.

"Maybe your mums are mates," James added, breaking a roll in half and smearing it with butter.

"They probably are," Sirius laughed. "Hey, have any of you seen Peter?" A look of confusion spread across each of their faces as they looked up from their plates and scanned the table.

"Where the bloody hell did he go?"

"Maybe he's still on the train," Remus suggested.

"What about the kitchens?" Sirius offered.

"Nah, the house elves scare him when they're this busy," James placed a finger on his chin, "I think our safest bet would be the train." With that, he rose from the table and began toward the door, Remus and Sirius not far behind.

As they neared the entrance to the school they heard an array of aggressive whispers coming from the area before the main doors. The trio flung themselves out of sight, the disjointed conversation in perfect clarity to Remus, while the others strained their ears.

"Pettigrew!" an unfamiliar voice growled. "My parents are in direct contact with the Dark Lord, with their recommendation he would willingly have someone end your pathetic little life in a moment's notice. Or better yet, he'd take it upon himself to kill you." James peered around the wall and saw a large figure holding Peter by the collar of his shirt, who was squirming in his own skin, his face streaked with fear. "Now," he set him on his feet and brushed something away from the shoulder of his robe, "You're close with Potter, Black, and Lupin aren't you?"

Peter swallowed hard and said, "Y-ye-s, they're my-my mates."

"They have something, a cloak of sorts. He wants it," it was assumed which 'he' the voice was referring to. "My father gave me instructions to fetch it. I don't know what it does or why it's important but I need it. He expects it when I return home for Christmas. Do you know what I'm talking about Pettigrew?"

"I-I thin-k-k so." Peter's neck was a deep shade of red at this point, as it always was when he was frightened, embarrassed, or lying – in this moment it seemed to be due to a combination of the three.

"Good," the figure had his wand at Peter's shoulder, "They say that when the Dark Lord comes to power it's necessary that he have that cloak –"

"Because he has to keep up with the latest fashions I'm sure," Sirius whispered gaining a round of concealed laughter from his companions.

"– Understand?" the voice continued. Peter nodded furiously, a lump forming in his drying throat. "Alright then." The figure removed his wand and walked off.

As he passed their hiding spot Remus was able to catch a glimpse of his face. "Walden Macnair," he mumbled.

"You mean Slytherin's biggest wanker," Sirius corrected him.

"Of course how could I forget?" Remus chuckled while James' face remained completely stern.

They waited for Peter to shuffle by before they left their post.

"Why the fuck would the bloody Dark Lord want my dad's cloak?" James grew angrier the more he thought about it.

"It's not like it can make you invisible or anything like that," Sirius said sarcastically.

"How does he even know that I have it? Or that it ever exists? It's been in my family for years, for all I know it always has been." They rounded the corner and started up the stairs in the direction of Gryffindor Tower. James continued to verbalize his furious thoughts in an attempt to make sense of the situation and the only conclusion that Remus had come to on their journey to their dorm was that his shoe was untied.

"Hey, guys!" he called after them, but James was too deeply absorbed in his ranting and Sirius' mind was clearly elsewhere, so they just kept walking. "I'll just catch up with you later then. Pricks," Remus grumbled to himself.

"Drop something?" Remus spun around to meet the voice behind him.

"It seems like we always begin conversations this way," he rose to his full height and, once again, met the blue eyes of Elaina Monroe.

"Yes," she laughed, "Yes we do." And the two of them began walking.

"I never got a chance to thank you for that book, the one you gave me on the train."

"My pleasure," she paused, "Are you okay? You look troubled."

"Oh, no I'm fine –really," she wasn't convinced. "I'm just tired, I guess." Could she really read him that simply? And if so, what else would she be able to figure out? "I should probably get back; maybe I can catch someone at the portrait who knows the password."

"Yeah, alright. I'll see you around, Remus." He offered a silent wave as he watched her climb the spiral staircase that led to the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room.

As he made his way through the corridors, his mind was buzzing. If he perused a stronger friendship she would be able to read him like a book, someone would finally be able to understand him for who he really was. He's never allowed himself to truly open up to anyone, why should he for this girl? But of all people why not her? Granted he'd have to get to know her better, who knows what that would bring with time. Frankly, Remus was confused and conflicted on how to treat the situation. The one constant thought running through his mind was a simple phrase, a phrase that he desperately tried to shake; _'The very essence of romance is uncertainty.'_

…

**And there you have it! Thank you so much for reading, you have no idea how much it means to me!**

**Quotes used (in order of appearance): Oscar Wilde**

**Reviews would be much appreciated.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, dear readers! I've uploaded rather quickly because I've been inspired and all that. As always, I use quotes and they are marked **_**'like this'**_** and I list the authors I quote at the end of the chapter.**

**That is all! **

…

**Chapter 4**

**The First Full Moon**

By the time Remus reached his dormitory his mind was completely and utterly jumbled, for lack of a better word. He had been meandering through the halls thinking about perusing a relationship with a girl – or _if_ he should even bother with said girl. As he let this thought linger in his brain he was also scolding himself for not worrying about more practical things, like the N.E.W.T.s he would have to study for and keeping his friends from landing _too_ many detentions – things that wouldn't potentially endanger someone's life.

"Would you just stop thinking for once?" he murmured to himself as he pushed open the heavy wooden door to find Sirius and James hovering over a large piece of parchment on the floor. A piece of parchment that was, undoubtedly, the Marauders' Map.

"Moony, where the bloody hell have you been?" Sirius said, turning his attention to Remus.

"Flirting again, were you Moony?" James shared Sirius' smugness.

"Thank you for your concern, _Mum_, but I was talking with a friend," Remus said before he began to unpack the books from his trunk.

Sirius made a clicking sound with his tongue. "The map suggests otherwise."

"What do you mean 'the map suggests otherwise'? That is the biggest load of rubbish I've heard all day!" Remus continued to ramble about what his friend was implying and became so invested in his nonsense words that he failed to notice a glossy piece of parchment slide out from the pages of one of his text books. Nor did he notice James pick up the photo. "– I mean _really_!"

"Yes yes, whatever you say," James waved away his words his attention on the picture in his hand, "Say, Moons, is this yours?"

"What? Is what mine?" Remus flipped around and immediately noticed the photo in his friend's hand, and so did Sirius.

"Who is _that?_" Sirius gaped at the image and snatched it from James' grasp. "He's far too smiley to be our dear Moony, don't you agree, Mr. Prongs?"

"Well considering the lovely bird he's with, I'm sure that even grouchier folk than Moony would have a hard time not smiling."

"I am _not_ grouchy!" Remus exclaimed, disproving his own statement.

"Say, Remus, you never told us what you did this summer. Did it include dancing with cute Ravenclaws, perhaps?" Sirius raised his eyebrows in jest.

"Can we _please_ go back to discussing how much firewhiskey you drank over the summer and worrying about the apparent death eater who's after the invisibility cloak," Remus pleaded, making a swipe for his picture which Sirius dodged with ease. Remus rolled his eyes and returned his attention to his trunk when Allen entered the room.

"Hullo, Allen," Sirius said coolly, a potential discussion with the newcomer concocting in his mind.

Allen nodded at this greeting and flung himself onto his bed. "What are you lot up to?" he asked, though his attention was directed to the ceiling.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Hey, you're matey with Elaina-Something-Or-Other, no?" Sirius asked even though he knew the answer to this question.

"Elaina Monroe? Yeah, we're close. Why?" Allen responded, thinking nothing of the question while Remus had to stop himself from burrowing into his bed.

Sirius shrugged casually, "No reason, she's caught my eye, I suppose. What's her deal – like with blokes and all that?"

"Hmm," Allen placed a finger on his chin, straining his memory, "Last year she and Neil Withers had a…thing. I dunno specifics but she wears his quidditch sweater and _Gillyweeds_ tee-shirt all the time. She likes that band a lot – _The Gillyweeds_ – and she likes a bunch of muggle bands, yah know like _The Kinks, The Undertones, _and_ The Who…_ and some wizard stuff too. She's got a shit ton of records that one."

Remus listened intently as Allen babbled on about Elaina but his mind continued to catch on the thought of her and Neil Withers. And like a sweater caught on a nail, all the thread of Elaina and Neil began to unravel in his head, his imagination creating most of the scenarios he watched in his mind's eye. In a way this information was a relief, he couldn't date her because she was dating that _prick_ Withers, he wouldn't have the stress of that weighing on his mind. But at the same time he was almost jealous of that _prick_ Withers because he probably wasn't a prick, he was most likely a nice guy. They probably deserve each other and make a lovely couple. As the thread continued to unravel Remus sunk deeper and deeper into the realization that he may not have a chance, and at the same time convincing himself that this could be a good thing rather than a disappointing one.

"Withers? He's the Ravenclaw keeper isn't he?" Sirius was now lying on the floor, the photograph on Remus' bed.

"And Captain," James answered.

"They still together?" Sirius looked over to Allen, who, quite frankly, looked as though he were about to fall asleep.

"Huh? Oh, I'm not sure they ever were together together – just," he spent a moment searching for the right word, "Just cozy, I guess."

James chuckled, "Cozy, eh?" he stood and stretched out his back. "I'm off to the kitchens; Pete's been down there for ages now. You two comin'?"

"Sure," Sirius hopped to his feet. He motioned for Remus to follow, who grumbled as he made his way to the door. The trio strode through the bustling common room and out the portrait hole, earning a disapproving look from the Fat Lady.

"Don't forget about curfew, you three!" she warned.

"We get enough detentions as it is, why worry about what you can't control," Sirius joked as they started towards the kitchens. Had they turned around they would have discovered the smallest of smiles across the Fat Lady's lips.

"So, Moony…" Sirius began but Remus stopped him.

"I told you I was holding back with good reason."

"Remus, you're putting words in my mouth! All I was going to say is that you shouldn't act or refuse to act on this too soon."

"Oh yeah? And why is that," Remus replied, certain that he had won this battle.

"Because you've got a whole year ahead of you, and , knowing you and your brilliance, you'll more than likely figure something out." As the words left Sirius' lips Remus felt the bit of smugness that he had been carrying throughout the conversation melt away, only to be replaced by defeat.

…

The next day was a Saturday, which worked in Remus' favor seeing as he would not be missing any classes the day subsequent to his transformation, which he would almost certainly be spending in the hospital wing. He hated missing class, especially so early on in the school year. Only very rarely did the second day of school fall on a weekend and when it did the students of Hogwarts took it as an opportunity to lounge around the lawns, or relax by the lake before the stress of the school year was placed on their shoulders.

Remus, on the other hand, feeling habitually lousy (considering the phase the moon was to take that evening) opted to remain alone in the common room with a book and a few pieces of fudge. In fact, he was quite happy with this decision, as he had selected one of his favorite novels to reread that day in early September; _Barnaby Rudge_ by Charles Dickens. He was never quite certain why that novel intrigued him as much as it did. Perhaps it was the fact that it inspired Poe to write "The Raven", which in Remus' mind was still utterly brilliant – despite the fact that he _still _can't decide what the raven actually symbolizes. As the sun just began to sink behind the distant hills Remus found himself distractedly revisiting a passage about the moon rising and irritably snapped the book shut. He had every intention of going to his dorm to meditate before the sun went down (which was essentially Remus laying on his bed and allowing himself to be engulfed in self pity and sadness for a few moments). But he didn't move. He sank further into the sofa before the fire and watched as the sky turned a shade that matched the glowing embers in the fire place. Students began to filter into the common room again, some full from dinner and others discarding their jackets before heading down to the Great Hall. Remus had forgotten dinner and wondered if he could grab a quick bite before the burning sunset became the darkness of night. "Just one more minute," he promised himself before he was able to tear himself away from the view.

Hours later in the Ravenclaw common room Elaina found herself drawn to the night sky as Remus had been to the sunset. She had placed herself on a window seat overlooking the black lake, which often times looked like the night sky itself. If there was one thing Elaina loved most about Ravenclaw Tower was how lovely it looked at night. The tall windows and the sky lights strategically placed across the lofty ceiling of the common room provided for multiple views of the stars and created a calming atmosphere when the fire was burning low and when the moon shone as brightly as it did that night. She loved how the light from the full moon stretched across the room, making the books on their shelves appear to be glowing and the blues and bronzes that decorated tower shine.

Elaina forced her attention away from the view to look at her only companion in the common room that evening, as the hands of the clock creeped towards midnight. She grinned at the sight of Neil Withers napping on the couch in front of the fire, the moonlight creating hard shadows across his gentile face. Neil was a very very nice lad, who had a brilliant taste in music and never minded when she took his clothes – which she had often done when they were in their sixth year, he had been nice enough to let her keep her two favorite items. In fact, she was wearing his _Gillyweeds _tee shirt at that time, accompanied by plaid, flannel pajama pants. The shirt swallowed her slender frame, but she loved it (almost as much as his sixth year Quidditch sweater) because it was comforting and smelled like his house with a touch of his cologne. She and Neil had never been "official"; they were just friends who spent a lot of time in close proximity to each other. Elaina loved the way she was enveloped in his warmth when Neil wrapped his lanky arms around her, and how he let her rest her head on his shoulder when they sat on the couch late at night, and, yes, occasionally he would take her hand in his. But he had fallen in love with a witch in Paris, so he and Elaina never dated, or even snogged for that matter. She was fine with that, really she was, as cute and sweet as Neil was, she couldn't even begin to imagine a relationship with the boy – it wouldn't feel right after years of friendship.

Turning her concentration back to the window Elaina recalled a quote from _Barnaby Rudge_, one of her favorite novels. She proceed to recite it out loud, oblivious to the fact that Neil was now awake and listening to her. "_'But the moon came slowly up in all her gentle glory, and the stars looked out, and through the small compass of the grated window, as through the narrow crevice of one good deed in a murky life of guilt, the face of Heaven shone bright and merciful. He raised his head; gazed upward at the quiet sky, which seemed to smile upon the earth in sadness, as if the night, more thoughtful than the day, looked down in sorrow on the sufferings and evil deeds of men; and felt its peace sink deep into his heart.'_"

"How do you remember all that?" Neil's gravelly voice took her by surprise.

"You're awake," she observed with a smile.

"And you're obsessed with books," he did the same.

"Am not," Elaina rose from her post at the window and joined him on the couch, "Sometimes things just…stick with me after I read it."

"Alright," Neil sat up, "Give me a quote, the first one that pops into your head."

"The four founders of Hogwarts made it their mission to –" The girl began in a dramatized version of the droning Professor Binns.

"No no! Something poetic, Ellie! I've read _Hogwarts: A History_ far too often for my liking."

Elaina thought for a moment and returned to the conversation with, "_'For I have learned to look on nature, not as in the hour of thoughtless youth, but hearing oftentimes the still, sad music of humanity.'"_

"Who wrote that?" he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and peered down into her eyes.

"William Wordsworth," she replied effortlessly.

"With a name like that I suppose Willy Wordsworth was destined for poetry, no?"

"I suppose so," she said smiling.

"You've got a brilliant memory, you do. Me? I'm better in Arithmancy. I'm thinking of starting my own business you know." Neil said his eyes still locked with hers.

"Yeah? What kind of business?"

"Dunno, I haven't decided on that bit yet," Neil grinned. What was it about her eyes that night? And then it hit him; it was the moonlight. The light filtering in from the skylights was reflecting on the blue of her eyes, making them look as though they were sparkling – like the distant ocean on a sunny day.

"That's probably something that you should figure out."

"Probably," Neil agreed.

"So, Neil, you never told me about you holiday in France. I mean, I got your letters and photos but did you meet up with Jacqueline," Elaina smirked as she watched his eyes fill with memories of the trip.

"Yeah, yeah I did," at this point he was grinning.

"And…" she pressed.

"She was lovelier than usual, yah know? We ate at this restaurant called La Baguette de…um de something. And we walked around the city and kissed beneath the Eiffel Tower." As Neil evoked the events his voice took a on a dreamy quality – yes, Elaina thought, he was definitely in love.

"Did you buy a beret and smoke cigarettes in a café in Wizarding-Paris?" Elaina joked snapping Neil out of his wistful reminiscing.

"As a matter of fact, we did! And it made for a lovely holiday, thank you very much." She laughed at this.

"I had no idea you were such a romantic," Elaina teased, her voice heavy with sarcasm.

"I had no idea your hair was so soft! Has it always been like this?" Neil stroked the side of Elaina's head, smoothing her mousey brown hair.

She laughed and swatted his hand away. "Has your hair always been this messy? For Merlin's sake buy a comb!"

With this Neil began smoothing his shaggy, chocolate brown hair defensively, "It isn't _that_ bad is it?"

"Nah," she mussed his newly flattened hair, "It looks better untidy."

The boy grinned, "You like my hair."

"Oh shut it, you cocky prick!" she flung a pillow at him.

"Ow!" he attempted to rub the pain from where the pillow struck him and she grinned.

"At least you hair looks better than it did fifth year," Elaina said as she rose from the couch.

His eyes followed her as she moved towards the spiral staircase that led to the girl's dormitories. Neil flipped around to face her as he spoke, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"What's what supposed to mean?" she ask sweetly pausing to face him her hand placed on the bronze railing.

"My hair, fifth year; what was wrong with it?" She drummed her fingers on the metal railing and tried to suppress a laugh at how frantic he sounded.

"Nothing was _wrong_ with it, you just –"

"I just _what_?"

"You looked like a Beatle."

"A Beatle – you mean that muggle band?" She nodded, clearly amused. "Which Beatle? Is that a _good _thing?"

"Good night, Neil!" she ignored his questions and began up the stairs.

"Wait – Ellie! Hey!" he called after her, his voice becoming fainter and fainter as she climbed the stairs. Upon pushing open the door to her dorm he heard him finally shout, "You're a rubbish friend, Ellie!" in defeat.

Of all of the things she loved about her friendship with Neil she loved teasing him the most.

She slipped beneath her blankets and drew the curtains of her four poster bed, leaving one side open a crack to provide her with a view of the full moon that hung in the sky outside the window next to her bed. And she fell asleep that night by light of the moon, mystified by the blood curdling howls that sounded as though they originated somewhere on the grounds.

…

His eye lids felt as though they were composed of lead as he heaved them open that morning. His eyes darted about as he gathered his bearings; an abundance of soft, white sheets, a bedside table loaded with potion bottles, and the glowing light of early morning filling the room; the Hospital Wing, he was in the Hospital Wing. He gathered handfuls of his bed sheets, and took note of the fact that his hands were still fully functioning. He bent his toes, and so were his feet. There was a sharp pain frosting his body, along with an intense pulsing at his temples. Nothing was out of the ordinary, the pain, the initial confusion, the horrible fragmented bits of memory that surged through his mind; everything just like last month.

"I'm in the Hospital Wing. I'm not in Azkaban. I haven't been executed or expelled. I haven't bitten or killed anyone. I'm alive," he reviewed aloud, it was a ritual of sorts that he had modified over the years – he always felt that reminding himself of these things made him feel more…human.

"Mr. Lupin?" Remus redirected his gaze at the mention of his name and found Madam Pomfrey standing within the confines of the curtains that surrounded his bed.

He responded with a quiet "mmmhm?" due to the fact that the notion of speaking sounded too painful to Remus' wounded body.

"You're friends would like to see you. Shall I let them in?" Remus smiled at the motherly concern in her voice and the protective look on her face. Madam Pomfrey had always treated him with the utmost care and attention, and for that he was forever grateful.

"Yes, they're harmless," he replied, surprised at the roughness of his voice but more so at his ability to speak – but there again this was always the case when he first woke up after a full moon.

"Alright, and take this potion, dear," she handed him a vile filled with clear liquid that emanated an extremely foul odor. Remus raised the vile to his lips and cringed as the substance trickled down his throat causing his sinuses to burn and his muscles to relax. "The burning should wear off in a moment," Pomfrey bustled about fixing his sheets and reorganizing the potions on his nightstand. "You're looking surprisingly well this morning, maybe even well enough to catch a late breakfast."

"Mm," Remus agreed, able to speak in his normal voice again, "I've had worse nights."

"Well, try to keep it up. Now, I'm going to change a few bandages and then I'll send in your friends." Remus nodded and grinned at the notion of his friends pacing about somewhere beyond the curtain, cursing the healer for taking so long. Meanwhile, Madam Pomfrey began to peel away the blood soaked bandages and magically seal a few of Remus' self inflicted wounds that had reopened (as werewolf scratches are cursed and must be sealed multiple times before completely healing) while checking the other injuries for infection, or something along those lines. This process never took too long, for the most part; with the exception of second year when Remus had scratched his face creating a long scar across nose that extends down his left cheek (which prompted an overabundance of questions when he returned to classes). Remus had desperately tried to conceal the mark, but every spell he had tried had been unsuccessful seeing as werewolf scratches _are_ cursed after all. "Okay, Mr. Lupin, your wounds should close up quite soon," the woman smiled and handed him yet another vile, "Drink this, and I'll be back to check on you in a few minutes."

Remus fiddled with the lid of the vile before dumping the pungent liquid down him throat and offering Madam Pomfrey a statement of his gratitude.

"Moony!" Sirius flung through the curtains, with James and Peter not far behind.

James took the chair beside the bed and peered into his friend's pale face, "Moony, you look," he searched for a word, "well."

"Do I? I promise I don't feel _well_." Remus eased himself into a straighter sitting position.

"And last night there was a lot of scratching and running, but you didn't do a great deal of snapping at us," Sirius informed him and he placed himself at the foot of the cot.

"Really?" the werewolf asked incredulously.

"No, really," Peter said, "You were a lot calmer…well, not calm, but still not _as _vicious."

"Did you _actually_ meditate?" James suppressed a laugh, in an attempt to be serious.

"Do I ever?" Remus returned, smiling. "I mean, all I did was watch the sun set, which I never do, I'm usually in the shack at that point. I guess…it was just a good month." Everyone nodded in agreement.

At this point, the Healer had returned to Remus' bedside and was coaxing three more potions down his throat. And within minutes and a great deal of pain his fractured ribs were healed, his wounds had stopped bleeding, and, aside from the subtle throbbing that still encompassed his body, Remus had regained "satisfactory health" (as Madam Pomfrey referred to it) and was free to go.

"Released from the Hospital Wing in record time!" Sirius said, animatedly leading the group to the Great Hall.

"I know, it's the first time I've reached "satisfactory health" before lunch," Remus willed himself to keep up with the other three but found it best to move gingerly to accommodate for his aching body.

"And thank Merlin for that!" James laughed.

And the conversation continued like that through breakfast, until they decided to retreat to the lawns.

"I'm not sure if I can come," Peter admitted sheepishly loosing his hands in his sleeves. "I never finished my transfiguration work from this summer."

"Pete!" James and Sirius whined in unison.

"Fine," James gave in running a hand through his hair, visibly distressed. "We'll meet up with you later, Wormtail." Peter departed, shuffling out of the Great Hall.

"You don't think –" Remus questioned, the same thought on all of their minds.

"Nah," Sirius took a bite of his toast, his eyes fixated on his plate.

"I've got it in my bag," James assured them pulling a corner of the cloak from his bag, putting their minds at ease.

With that they abandoned their breakfasts and made for the outdoors. Placing themselves underneath the grand oak tree by the Black Lake, Remus lost himself in the Daily Prophet and Sirius and James occupied themselves with one of their favorite past times, people watching.

"Oh, she's quite fit isn't she?" Sirius mused, his eyes fixated on a sixth year Hufflepuff.

"Which one?" James tore his eyes away from the snitch that was flitting though his fingers.

"That blonde one over there."

"Over where?"

"_There_," Sirius extended his arm and pointed at the girl in question, who, at the time, was too busy fussing with her friend's hair to notice.

"Her? She's alright," the bespectacled boy shrugged and redirected his attention to his previous task.

"Alright? Cute face, long blonde hair, nice _features_ – what's there not to like?"

"Need I remind you, Padfoot, Mr. Prongs has a very _particular_ taste," Remus drawled from behind his paper.

The shaggy haired boy raised his eyebrows, "How did I manage to forget about our lovely Lily Evans, Mr. Moony?"

"I do not know," Remus replied dryly.

"Remus! You're supposed to play along!"

"Terribly sorry, won't happen again, truly." But Remus' attention had long since been devoted to the conversation and he peered over the top of his newspaper, looking out at the students littering the grounds.

Some ways across the lawn he located a group of familiar faces:

Amelia was sitting with her legs outstretched and Avery was on her stomach, the two were arguing about how attractive one boy was as opposed to another – or something like that – while Elaina and Allen were laying on their backs, Elaina strumming an unfamiliar chord progression on her ukulele and Allen quietly supplying lyrics that made the former chuckle from time to time. They were the closest of friends, Remus thought: a Hufflepuff, a Slytherin, a Ravenclaw, and a Gryffindor, the definition of house unity. He admired them for that.

"NO!" Avery shouted, "Have you _seen_ him? He has great hair, amazing bone structure, and is _way _hotter than Regulus!"

"Great hair? That's a joke right? No, one time he fell asleep on the couch in the common room and his hair left a huge stain that even the strongest spells couldn't remove. Avery, the house elves couldn't even clean it. Regulus is clean cut, and at least washes his hair unlike Sever – " Amelia was silenced by an sharp elbow from Avery who frantically squealed,

"Don't say his name! He's right over there! He could _hear_ you!"

"Not with all that grease clogging his ears he couldn't," the blonde muttered in undertone.

"Melia, isn't Regulus your ex?" Elaina interjected.

"Yeah, but even so he's still attractive. He may be a twat but still…"

"Is this all you lot talk about when I'm not here?" Allen asked in his thick Irish accent. "Because you _used_ to talk about other things besides blokes."

"What are we supposed to talk about? We _are_ girls, it's what we do," Avery countered.

"Alright then," the boy forced himself in to a sitting position, "What about Elaina then? She doesn't talk about boys as much as you two."

Everyone looked to the lanky girl laying amongst them. "El? Any comment?" Amelia asked her after a moment of silence.

"I talk about boys. I just…just," Elaina racked her brain. Just what?

And before she could decide Avery pointed across the lawn, "And the boy in question is right over there." Elaina, along with the rest of the group, looked in the direction her friend was referring to meet the eyes of Remus Lupin. He was sitting under a large tree with the newspaper folded in his lap. He smiled at her as their gaze lingered. She offered a small wave and shyly looked away. "See? They're totally into each other," Avery concluded.

"I can see it," Amelia agreed.

"And what about Neil?" Allen asked.

"What _about _Neil?"

"He's involved with some French chick."

"So he and El aren't –"

"No, Allen!" Amelia and Avery chorused, finally able to agree on something.

But, Elaina had tuned out their conversation and was focusing on Remus and herself. There was nothing there, was there? Was he even interested? It would be quite nice if something developed between them, though, she decided. Perhaps a normal relationship would do her some good. Yes, she could see it. And, for the first time in a long while, she had whole-heartedly agreed with Avery and Amelia.

…

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! It's significantly longer than the other 3 chapters, which is…weird for me. BUT! Per a request in the reviews, I'm trying to lengthen my chapters.**

**Speaking of reviews…I'd love some, but I shan't beg. Review at your own leisure, they would help be a lot, but do as you please.**

**Quotes in order of appearance: Charles Dickens, ****William Wordsworth**


End file.
